This invention relates to apparatus for measuring usage of a commodity, and more particularly to an electronic compact meter for measuring consumption of natural gas.
Existing natural gas meters often do not meet modern expectations for allocating costs fairly to the end users. For example, in multi-family dwellings, it is difficult to cost-effectively measure gas usage for each user to promote fair billing and encourage conservation of gas. It is often difficult to access the meter in multi-family dwellings for reading, inspection and maintenance. Theft and vandalism are also a significant problem to the gas utility industry. Moreover, installation costs and space are problems because of meter size and configuration.
It would be desirable to have an electronic compact gas meter for either interior retrofit or for new installations that is small in size and low in cost to as to enable cost-effective measurement of usage of natural gas by a consumer. It would also be desirable to have a gas meter that would enable easy direct or remote reading, and that is compatible with current construction materials and utility operations.